Judgment
by Procne
Summary: When Ivan disappears, the Adepts find themselves on a journey none of them will soon forget. Chapter 6: Alchemy's True Power
1. Judgment

"Judgment," Isaac yelled as the Djinn took the form of the great Gaia warrior. They struck at full force, finally defeating the Doom Dragon.

The figures of three people could be seen through the ashes.

"Mom, dad…!" Isaac heard Jenna whisper.

And Isaac woke up.

The thought still haunts him, what almost happened that day. The pain that had resulted from his last attack.

Isaac half smiled, trying to remind himself that everything had turned out fine.

He finished changing and went to meet Garet.

"Flint," Isaac called. All of his Djinn followed Flint for reasons unknown to him. Isaac figured that they'd tell him if he asked but for now he preferred to say one name as opposed to seven.

In the past year Vale had been rebuilt. To an extent anyway. There wasn't an inn yet and the shops were no more than tents and tables. But they were working on it. Half of Vale was actually staying in Vault to the south. They'd be back once more houses had been built.

The mayor's house had been rebuilt first. Garet had stayed behind in Vault till more of the town had been built, and all of his friends were in Vale.

Why Mia hadn't gone bask to Imil, and Sheba to Lalivero, still puzzles Isaac. He figured if they wanted him to know they would have told him by now, and he didn't want to be rude by asking.

Mia ran past uttering a quick "Hi" then kept going. Isaac watched her long blue hair flow gracefully behind her. He had grown to like her as more than a friend recently. He hadn't noticed how beautiful Mia was, but when you're fighting to save the world, it's not the kind of thing you notice.

Isaac saw Garet waiting for him and left. This _was _a first. Him, Isaac being _late _and _Garet _being early! 

Garet smiled in triumph. "You're late!"

Isaac smiled back. "My mind was on something else."

"Your girlfriend?" Garet snickered.

"Here comes yours," Isaac said ad Jenna stormed up to them.

She wasn't actually his girlfriend, but it was fun to joke about. Not in front of Jenna, of course. Her fiery temper went off enough without their help, even though everyone knew that Garet liked her.

Garet took a step back. "Whatever it is I didn't do it!" He exclaimed.

Jenna glared at him. "Does it look like I'm angry at you?" She demanded.

"Yes actually," Garet answered slowly.

She let out an exasperated groan and stormed off. 

Isaac almost laughed. "What was that all about?" He asked, Garet still cowering a few steps behind him.

"Do we really want to find out?" Garet answered. Jenna had been angry with him one too many times.

This time Isaac did laugh. "No I guess not. But we should better start training or she _will _be angry at us tonight," he pointed out, remembering that they were celebrating one year of the lighthouses being lit.

Even though they _had _lit the lighthouses, they still had to train. Some people were not happy with the fact that they lit the lighthouses and Saturos and Menardi hadn't given Felix, Jenna and Kraden very good reputations. But the training was mostly for fun now. They hadn't been attacked or accused of something in a while and besides, nothing would ever be as strong as the Doom Dragon, or the Fusion Dragon for that matter.

Normally, their Djinn wouldn't come for their trainings. One or two elemental creatures could keep monsters in this area away better than five Sacred Feathers. Eventually, though, the monsters had learned to stay away from the Adepts as well, so it really didn't matter anymore.

They saw Sheba waiting at the gate for someone. 

"Hi, Sheba!" Garet shouted, running up to her.

"Um… Hi," said Sheba, her glance shifting between him and the woods behind her. "You seem awfully excited, considering you see me every day."

"I know, I'm just in a good mood today."

"Nah, he's just happy that Jenna's not mad at him," Isaac inserted.

"Oh," Sheba giggled a little, her gaze still shifting back to the forest.

"Is something wrong?" Isaac asked. "You seem distracted."

"Um…No…" Said Sheba, suddenly becoming very interested in something on the ground." Aren't you two going to train?"

"Now you're trying to get rid of us," Garet stated bluntly. "Something _must _be wrong."

"I said it's nothing!" Sheba snapped turning the other way.

Garet looked slightly taken aback. Isaac put his hand on her shoulder. "Ivan's not back yet, is he?" He asked, thinking of the only reason she'd be waiting by the gate.

"He said he'd be back by now…" Sheba answered slowly, tears coming to her eyes.

"Sheba, it's not the first time he's been late," Garet pointed out. 

"I know that," she snapped.

"I'm just saying that maybe something came up and he had to stay longer." Ivan had left to visit his sister in Contigo about two weeks ago.

"He hasn't been three days late before," Sheba said, looking the other way.

"Sheba, I'm sure he's fine," Isaac said reassuringly.

"I hope you're right…"


	2. In Kalay

I'm sorry this took so long; school got in the way of my writing. I hope you like it.

I was debating with myself over whether to put this chapter first or the next chapter first (it will be up soon, it's already written, though I'm probably gonna rewrite the first couple paragraphs). Please tell me what you think.

* * * 

Ivan walked up to the palace at the Northern end of Kalay; half expecting the guards wouldn't let him in. One of them looked up and smiled. "You're late again," he said.

Ivan smiled back. "I know. You're so surprised; I'm sure…" he said sarcastically, entering through the open door. Ivan had developed a reputation for being late, especially around here.

Lady Layana ran up to him as soon as he entered. "Ivan, we were so worried!" she exclaimed. "We saw the storm and thought you were already on the boat."

"The storm didn't last very long…" Ivan said, remembering his attempt at stopping the storm. He had promised to stop by on his way back to Vale but his travels were…delayed…

"Ivan, that's not the point…" Layana began

"But I'm here, aren't I?" Ivan said. "Shouldn't that account for something?" he asked, looking past her at Master Hammet, hoping for some support.

"Layana, don't be so hard on him…" Hammet began. He paused, hearing a loud clanking noise to his left.

"Luff…" Ivan whispered. Luff was his fastest Djinn, despite all of Zephyr's claims and efforts.

Luff knew exactly what to do. His long ears found the source of the noise almost immediately, and he was gone.

Luff cam back almost as quickly as he had left, fling as fast as he could. "The underground passage…more than ten men…I think it's an ambush!" Luff gasped.

"Luff, you're overreacting…" Ivan began.

"Do big shields and broad swords sound like overreacting to you?" Luff asked; offended Ivan didn't believe him.

"My guard wouldn't let anyone in without telling me first," Hammet pitched in.

Ivan simply nodded and turned to Layana and Hammet. "I'll hold them off, you two go out the front; if there were more of them in the city I would've seen them."

"But, Ivan…"

"Just go!" He yelled, running to the passage with his hand on his sword hilt.

Ivan stopped short of the underground passage and drew his sword, preparing for anything. The Burning Sword* pulsed with it's usual red glow.

The first two men exited the passage, swords drawn and ready for anything. No doubt they had seen Luff and knew they had been found out. Ivan cast "Ray" to keep them from going any farther. Both men dodged.

Ivan stepped back into a fighting stance. _No one could be that fast… _He thought.

One of the men yelled something in a different language as more of his comrades exited the passage. Luff had been right; there were only about ten men, but all of them were ready for anything, especially after Ivan's display of psynergy.

The men started forward. Ivan called out Zephyr; if all of these men were fast enough to dodge _lightning_, he would need the extra speed. Originally Ivan had thought this would go quickly, but since that his psyenergy had just been proved useless, he was having second thoughts.

Four of the men started forward at once. The man in front swung his sword at Ivan, but Ivan sidestepped, hitting the man in the back with the Burning Sword as he did so. The man fell and slid on the slick floor. He was soon followed by three of his comrades.

The remaining five men began to retreat. Wait a minute…Five? Weren't there ten total? Ivan heard a shout from the back of the room and the men stopped retreating. Six. He was obviously the leader; bearing a better weapon than all of his men combined. He started forward but Ivan met him halfway.

The Captain swung his sword and I van blocked it easily. The Captain chuckled. "I did that on purpose," he whispered, tripping Ivan and catching him off guard. Ivan pulled Sheba's dagger and swung at the captain's throat. He hit the ground hard and the burning sword skid across the room. Blood trickled from the captain's face. Ivan was upset he had missed, but glad he didn't kill anyone.

Ivan picked up the small dagger at his side and threw it at the captain, knowing that he couldn't do anything with it in close combat. The captain tried to dodge but the dagger burrowed deep into his shoulder. He pulled it out and snapped it easily. 

'Keep it, it might come in handy,' Sheba had said, handing Ivan the dagger. 'Just bring it back in one piece.'

'I'm sorry, Sheba…' Ivan thought as the captain dropped the broken weapon. 

Ivan realized he was surrounded, and by six men too. Dang it! He had gotten out of worse situations than this! But that was _with_ psyenergy.

The captain picked up the Burning Sword and walked up to Ivan. "Do you have anything you wish to say?" He asked, smiling.

"Yeah, I want my sword back."

The captain ignored his comment and started towards the underground passage. He turned to his men. "The guards are coming, you idiots! Bring the boy!" He exclaimed, turning back around. 

Ivan struggled against the hands that restrained his arms. The captain turned to see one of his men doubled up and another clutching the side of his face. The remaining three conscious men (Ivan had knocked out the other four earlier) were struggling to restrain Ivan. The captain walked cautiously up to Ivan. "Don't give up easy, do you?" He said. He hit him over the head with the hilt of the Burning Sword and Ivan fell limp.

"Get moving already!" the captain yelled, disappearing down the passage. His men followed close behind.

* * *

Well, how do you like it? Please review even if you don't.

~Procne


	3. Leaving Vale

Thanks to everybody who has reviewed so far! J I feel special now…

I want to apologize for the time it took me to update. Darn writer's block…

* * *

"But Ivan isn't here yet!" Jenna complained as her father was setting up for the festival that evening.

"He said he'd be here; please, calm down…"

"I will not calm down, and we are not having the celebration with out him!" Jenna replied stubbornly.

"I'm not opposed to postponing," Felix commented cautiously. He had refused to help set up, but was not ready to join his sister's rebellion just yet.

Jenna smiled; glad someone was on her side. "But Ivan did say he'd be here; it's his own fault if he misses it," Felix added quickly.

Jenna knew his first remark was to good to be true. She pretended he hadn't said anything and picked up the plates their father had just set down. "We wouldn't be having this celebration if Ivan wasn't a member of our group. What if something came up? Something he couldn't help, so he'd be missing the celebration because of an incident he had no control over. It wouldn't be fair." Jenna immediately regretted her last words, knowing exactly what Felix would say about her last comment.

"Since when were you so conscientious about 'fair'?" There it was. Jenna was not one to use the word 'fair' in a sentence that wasn't similar to "life isn't fair" in some form or fashion. She was never going to hear the end of this…

"When did I cease to be a part of this conversation?" Their father asked, not wanting any arguing to occur off the subject, seeing as there was plenty already.

"Can we just postpone and let that be the end of this?" Jenna asked, watching what she said a little closer now.

"No. For starters, everyone expects it to happen tonight,"-their father spared a quick look at Felix-"and it's Ivan's own fault if he misses it."

"It's still pretty early in the day, can't this wait until after breakfast?" commented Felix, carefully positioning the sun through the thick layer of trees.

Jenna looked around slowly, hoping to think of something to back her up. Her gaze shifted to Isaac's house, and that gave her an idea. "What if none of us were here?"

Her father momentarily looked up from what he was doing. "I don't follow…"

"The celebration couldn't very well go on with out any of us here," Jenna explained, quite proud of her idea.

"I understood that much. How, may I ask, do you plan to get everyone to leave on the night of the festival?"

Jenna cursed her luck. Of all the questions he could ask… "I don't…" she began.

"We're going to make sure Ivan's alright," said Felix, now ready to help his sister out. He was in favor of any excuse to use his Hestia Blade in battle again. 

"Isn't it kind of pointless to go looking for someone who's known for being late?"

"Yes, but pointless hasn't stopped us in the past," Jenna pointed out.

"No, it hasn't. And I've found that out the hard way. Besides, I only see two of you leaving right now. What makes you so sure everyone else will want to come?" Their father asked, not trying to be difficult, but not understanding why this was so important to them in the first place.

"Sheba will come," Felix stated simply, obviously trying to avoid any further explanation.

"Okay, then three."

"I doubt anyone else would pass up and opportunity to leave," Jenna commented, not meaning to be harsh, but Vale had been pretty boring lately.

"Fine, you've made your point. I expect you'll be leaving before I finish this sentence, won't you…?" He looked up, but there was no one there. He smiled. "Haven't changed at all, those two…" he said, and began picking up what he had just laid down.

"Is this really necessary?" Isaac complained as they left Vale.

"Father wouldn't postpone for any other reason," Jenna stated simply. "And it's not fair for Ivan to miss something like this." Jenna winced as she realized what she had just said. She stared blankly into the cover of trees and hoped she was the only one who had noticed.

"Oh, leave me alone!" She said noticing Felix was about to comment. Garet refrained from laughing just behind her. "What, may I ask, is so funny?" She demanded, turning on Garet.

"You've now yelled at me twice today," Garet stated casually, ignoring her question.

Now Isaac was stifling a laugh. He quickened his pace slightly to keep Jenna from noticing too much.

She glared menacingly at Garet; half forgetting she was walking backwards. "Jenna, behind…" Piers began slowly. He was a little too late. Next Jenna knew she was flat on her back. She looked down to see a splintered root by her ankle. "You should have been watching where you were going," said Piers, looking slightly upset he hadn't stopped her from tripping.

Jenna looked around at everyone, half expecting them to go into a chorus of "Oh my gosh, are you okay?" but knowing it wouldn't come. She stood up slowly and began walking properly, despite the sharp pain in her ankle. 

Garet walked up behind her. "Are you okay?" He asked, noticing her slight limp.

_Oh, sure._ **_Now_** _someone asks_. Jenna thought. "I'm fine," she answered, trying to speed up her pace. Her ankle throbbed and she slowed down again.

Garet barely acknowledged the fact that she was lying, knowing what her answer would be before he asked the question. It was pointless to argue with her, especially if they both knew she wasn't going to admit her ankle hurt. Jenna walked on wordlessly.

"Soft as the wind blows,

_Quiet as the stream…" _Jenna recited quietly to herself, trying to calm down.

"Quickly the fire burns,

_Envelops the green…" _That was all she could ever remember, having last heard it four years ago, but it still seemed work.

Garet listened intently. He didn't know the poem, but the words assured him that if Jenna was more concerned with calming down than her hurt ankle, it probably didn't hurt as much as her limp made it seem.

"May I ask where we're going?" Mia asked quietly, breaking the silence that had overcome the group. Mia waited for the sarcastic comment that usually followed afterwards, but the silence persisted. _Okay, fine. Don't listen to me… _She thought, her eyes drifting between each person. Mia's gaze stopped on Jenna. _Oh, sure. She's angry so everyone's being quiet… Everyone's going to pay attention to _her. Mia shook her head. _ No, no, no! Don't think like that! Maybe they just didn't hear me… _Mia opened her mouth to speak again but Felix spoke first.

"Vault," Felix answered finally. "It's the nearest and since Ivan's later than normal, he's probably already there."

Once again, the quiet took over. Such stillness was unusual in this group, but perhaps a year together in a not-quite-rebuilt village, had used up their things to talk about.

"What if something was to happen?" Sheba asked very seriously. "I mean… What if Ivan's on another road going back to Vale right now and we just passed him? What if something happened and he's not _in _Vault? What if…"

"Okay, enough of the "what ifs" already!"

Sheba bit her lip softly. She wasn't trying to be negative about this, she was just concerned. Something inside her told her Ivan wasn't in Vault, or heading back to Vale… Tears began to line her eyes but she held them back. _One cry a day is enough, thank you…_

"Sheba, Ivan's fine…" Isaac began, remembering their earlier conversation.

"Then why does part of me say he's not?" Sheba snapped. She bit her lip again and stared at the trees that lined their path. "I'm sorry, but he's not usually this late. It's making me nervous… It seems like we're doing the wrong thing by going to Vault… I don't think he's there…"

"Oh, great! Someone else thinks this is useless!" Jenna erupted.

"I never…" Jenna cut her off with a glare.

"Yes, you did! If anyone else thinks this is stupid they can go back to Vale with you!" Jenna shouted. She turned sharply and began to run into the woods, but Garet cut her off. She glared at him, her blood boiling. Jenna clenched her fists, the thought of punching him only too inviting. She discarded that thought immediately. She shoved Garet to the side and kept running. They wouldn't catch her, the only person that ever could was Ivan, and sometimes Sheba, but not with this head start, small as it was. She darted through the trees, her anger urging her to go faster, but her sore ankle not letting her.

Jenna slowed to a walk, unable to hear them behind her anymore. She ignored the branches that grabbed at her clothing. Something stirred in the bushes to her right. _They couldn't have caught up _that_ fast… _ An arrow whizzed past her face and planted itself at an odd angle in her shoulder. Jenna instinctively reached for her staff, ready to take her anger out on something. _Whoever that is isn't a very good shot. Unless… _Jenna turned on her heel, realizing the first shot was a distraction. Another arrow caught her in the side mid-turn, nearly knocking her off her feet. Jenna's legs collapsed under her and her Glower Staff fell at her side. She braced herself with her hands till they gave out too; and she fainted.

* * *

So how do you like it? Once again I'm sorry about how long it took me to update, but it was worth it, wasn't it? J Please review and I'll see you in the next chapter!

~Procne


	4. Two arrows

I've kept you all waiting long enough so I'll just start…

Garet walked slowly, careful not to lose the trail. Tracking was one of the few things he was good at, but no one else knew, and he planed to keep it that way. He had once followed a lost dog through the rain this way, but this time it wasn't a dog, although the lost part was debatable. Something dashed through the bushes, and Garet pulled his axe from the leather loop on his belt. That had been a person, but no one he knew. Whoever it was hadn't meant any apparent harm. _ But maybe any harm they meant has already been dealt._ Garet shook away the thought, but still walked a little faster.

"Over here! Hurry, she's hurt!" Isaac yelled. Isaac had been running the completely wrong way, and he still managed to find Jenna. Garet stopped tracking and ran towards Isaac's yell, wishing he could have gotten there sooner. Not that it would have helped. If she was hurt, his psyenergy wouldn't help and he didn't know a thing about healing. Why did Isaac sound so worried? His _Potent Cure _was enough to heal a lot of things, if he was worried…

The person running through the woods flashed through Garet's mind again. To say that was a simple bandit was giving the person to much credit. It would take more than a mere thief to even catch Jenna off guard, much less do any damage. No. This must have been planned.

Isaac stopped yelling as Garet pushed his way through the low-hanging branches to where Jenna lay in a crumpled heap, her Glower Staff inches from her hand. Arrows. Just arrows. Relief struck Isaac's face as Mia and Piers appeared as well. Mia was surrounded by the glow of psyenergy well before she came into view; the glow surrounding Jenna said that _Pure Ply _was taking effect. "No! Mia, the arrow…!" Piers shouted, maybe two paces behind her.

Mia turned around, the glow fading immediately. "Why should the arrow—?" She began.

"If that arrow is barbed and her wound heals…" Piers stopped as if that would explain everything. Garet sat down next to Isaac who was muttering something about "good-for-nothing feathered sticks."

Mia knelt down on the other side of Jenna, and carefully slid the arrow out of Jenna's side, sighing as it came out easily. "Not barbed…" She breathed, handing the arrow off to Piers. The psyenergic glow formed around her again as she started healing.

"There's another," Garet said. The glow faded again.

"What?" Mia snapped, glaring at him for breaking her concentration.

"Another arrow; in her shoulder. You can see it from here," he answered. Mia's expression changed when she saw the arrow embedded halfway through Jenna's shoulder at an odd angle.

"So there is…" Mia mumbled, setting her hand on the arrow. The bushes rustled, reminding Garet he still had his axe out, but it was only Sheba and Felix. Sheba's eyes widened when she saw Jenna, but she said nothing.

Mia turned the arrow around in her hand, the fletchings twirling until they were a blur. The bloodstained tip still gleamed slightly despite the dim lighting of the woods around them. The fletchings were snowy white, matching a shaft that appeared almost crystalline. Someone had taken great care in the making of those arrows. Garet couldn't believe himself. Jenna was lying unconscious in front of him, and he was considering the quality of the arrows. Mia gasped suddenly, dropping the arrow as if it had turned into a snake.

Garet had had enough of this. They—were—arrows! "Why is everyone so worried?" he asked, standing up. "I mean, they're just arrows." _Could two arrows knock Jenna flat? _"I—" Garet stopped, realizing he had answered his own question. Two arrows _shouldn't _be able to do this—in the mood Jenna was in, they probably wouldn't have even fazed her—unless…

Piers looked up from the arrow he was examining. "They're poisoned…"

"Poisoned…" Garet echoed. Poisoned, but no one was so much as reaching for their pack to find an antidote. "Both you and Mia know _Cure Poison_, so—"

"Don't you think if we thought it would help we would have tried it by now?" Mia snapped, wincing at her words even as they came out. "Sorry… We're doing what we can right now," she said, biting her lip and looking down again.

"Sitting there?" Garet muttered under his breath. Mia bristled again.

"Look, if you have an idea, I'd be happy to hear it. But last time I checked, Piers and I were the most skilled healers. Personally, I rather not see Jenna die. How about you?"

Garet's hand tightened on his axe till his knuckles were white. They weren't doing _anything!_ Mia was glaring at him, the arrow suddenly back in her hands. Poisoned. Where had he seen an arrow like that before? Mia dropped her gaze, the fletchings twirling again. Poisoned. _Poison created by humans is different than the poison used by monsters, _he remembered hearing. _It isn't healed as simply. The poison used is required to create a working antidote. _Of course... That was why they were examining the arrows so closely. No time for apologies now. There. He saw what he was looking for. Garet barely hesitated before breaking out in to a dead run, ignoring the shouts of "Garet!" behind him.

Mia opened her mouth to yell after him, but stopped. She shouldn't have snapped—twice even!—but Garet would be fine. Right now, Jenna was in more trouble than he could possibly find out there. Mia scanned the arrowhead again, hoping for a trace of the poison that they could use for an antidote. Something whizzed past her ear so closely that Mia held up a lock of her hair to make sure it hadn't been cut. Blue strands fell on her knees, but suddenly she did not care. An arrow, the twin of the one she was holding, was embedded in the tree to Isaac's left. Isaac looked as shocked as she felt, and for good reason. Six inches over, and that shaft would have been through his chest. If she wasn't sitting in front of him, that is.

Mia pulled the arrow from the tree shakily, letting sap flow from the wood. Six inches over—no, less than six inches—, and that would've been her. Isaac barely blinked before standing up and drawing his blade. Mia touched the mace at her side, but didn't stand. Just a few inches… No. She couldn't think about that now.

"Mia…?" Isaac began. They all had their weapons out now, as if expecting to scare off the archer with a show of blades.

"Three inches…" She muttered.

"Wha—?"

"Three inches, and that shaft would have gone through my neck; or if I wasn't there, it would have gone through yours. I'm used to head-on battles and healing, not snipers!" Mia choked back a sob, refusing to admit she was frightened. Frightened for Jenna, frightened for Isaac—_Dang it, Garet, why'd you have to run off, too?_ —and, as much as she hated to admit it, scared for herself.

The sun glistened off of something in the far off bushes. There was no doubting what that was. "Isaac, look out!"

Garet took a quiet step as the archer nocked another arrow. Still cursing himself for letting the first shot be fired, he cursed himself again when the second arrow flew. The startled shouts of "Isaac!" told him the arrow probably hit its mark. Just two more steps… _Crack_. He flinched at the noise. He should have seen the… Garet shook himself out of it. It was too late for that now. The archer turned sharply, an arrow suddenly nocked and aimed for his heart.

w00t! Another chappy finished. Again, I'm _so _sorry that it took so long. I would also like to say that I'm probably going to stop working on this for a time to work on my other story, or it might turn out vice versa. Okay. Disclaimer time (would you believe it's my first one?)

Disclaimer: I do not own Golden Sun. Nintendo and Camelot do.

Okay? Okay. Please review!


	5. Fall of the Elements

**Yay! An update! You're so happy for me, I'm sure. Thanks to the one person who reviewed (Vokteren) and maybe I'll get more reviews this time around. That is, if anyone else actually reads this.**

**Aspen: Procne does not own Golden Sun. I, however, belong to her. It makes me sound like a slave or something.**

**Oh! I don't believe you've been properly introduced. Aspen, loving fans. Loving fans, Aspen. She's my muse for the time being. She also appears in Vokteren's story, "Lifechildren: Book One: bonds of friendship" which you must read! After you read this, of course. :) And this chappy doesn't center on the Adepts, just so you know. They'll come back in the next chapter, I promise. On with the story!**

Chris drove his own stake into the ground with only a little effort, but he tried to not even let that show. He was the leader of this group, after all, and the other ten following him wouldn't respect a weak leader. He wished his party was more than just eleven people total; it would take more than that to do what they were attempting and everyone knew it. The people of Prox hadn't been too happy with one hostile visitor, much less eleven. Chris still wasn't sure how they made it this far without being burnt to a crisp. He wished he had been assigned to Mercury Lighthouse instead; the only two people to stop them from getting there would be the two children who ran the sanctum. He had considered the eight who lit the lighthouses to be children, too. He had promised that would be the last time he underestimated kids. He'd still rather deal with sanctum workers than this. He had all of Prox standing about two paces behind him, waiting to see what would happen to their precious lighthouse.

All of the stakes were in, wedged neatly under the foundation of Mars Lighthouse. The first signal light went up somewhere to the Southeast. That would be Venus Lighthouse, no surprise there. Chris pulled his own signal from his pack, picking up his flint to light the fuse. How anyone got a hold of four of these was still amazing when half of Weyard didn't know that they existed. As bright as any star, that first signal had proved just how far they could be seen. Another signal, closer this time and again to the south, said that preparations were ready at Jupiter Lighthouse, and one last signal announced that the group at Mercury Lighthouse was ready. Coins exchanged hands among his men. Many had bet on whose light would go up first, and whose last. "Move!" Chris shouted as the fuse finally caught flame. The small cylinder shot upward, outshining the sun because of how near it was. Sparks melted holes into the snow and left black soot spots on the clothing of men who had been too close.

Chris dusted soot from his own clothing before walking back to his stake. This would be the tricky part. A number of people from Prox wailed as they realized what was about to happen. With their psyenergy, he and his men wouldn't stand a chance, but not one of them had apparently even thought of setting his group on fire. Perhaps they actually agreed that Alchemy was too dangerous to be in Weyard. Chris chuckled. There was no chance of that. From the stories he heard, two people from Prox _led_ the crusade that lit the Elemental Lighthouses. Well, there wouldn't be any Elemental Lighthouses much longer. Four men he trusted pulled thin tubes from their pouches, almost just like the signal flame. Five stakes were removed, replaced by five...explosives; he believed they were called...one of them placed by Chris himself. Rumor said that these created the Altin mine, but merchants could take anything out of context and make it sound like truth. All he knew was that they were dangerous.

As soon as the fuse was lit, he ran, harder and faster than he ever thought he could. Chris grabbed hands from the crowd of locals; Adepts or not, they didn't deserve to be left behind. A blast knocked him flat onto his chest, followed by screams and more blasts. Clouds of dust and dirt and snow floated low to the ground as far as he could see and smoke stung his eyes. A loud rumble almost like thunder announced that his job was done, and Chris turned to see what was left of Mars Lighthouse topple to the ground... To the Southeast, seven men were engulfed by saltwater forced to the shore by Venus Lighthouse falling into the sea... North of that, Jupiter Lighthouse collapsed, killing two men foolish enough to be near it. Northeast of that, the Water of Hermes stopped flowing as a blast reduced part of the fountain and Mercury Lighthouse to rubble. Adepts from all over Weyard looked to where the Lighthouse of their Element once stood, searching for the beacons that had once brought hope to some of them and brought fear to others. Each of them knew that those lights would shine no more...

**Yes. For the amount of time I made you wait, I bring a short chapter. It was good, though, right?**

Aspen: Of course it was! Why are you so hard on yourself? You're a good writer!

I dunno... I don't like what I write. So review, and tell me what I could do better; aside from updating faster, that is.

Aspen: Please review, and we'll see you in the next chapter!

Procne


	6. Alchemy's True Power

**Okie-day. My sincerest apologies on my updating times, and while I could give a long explanation on exactly _why_ I've taken so long, you don't want to hear that, so I won't tell you.**

**Aspen: Procne does not own Golden Sun, but you knew that already.**

**And Aspen is my original character. I'd say "all rights reserved," but that would be lying. Pretend she's copyrighted and all will be well.**

……………….

The archer hesitated, and Garet took his chance. Dropping his axe in haste, he rushed forward and knocked the bow out of the way, holding his belt knife to the archer's throat.

"This isn't over, Adept," the man said, pulling away to stab himself with his own poisoned arrow through his heart. The archer staggered back, laughing madly before his eyes rolled back and he dropped dead on the ground. Thoughts on what the man meant raced through Garet's mind, but he paid no heed to them. There were more important matters to deal with. He snatched a few arrows from the man's quiver before rushing back to where the others were, forgetting entirely about his axe.

The scene was not at all what Garet had expected. Mia lay in a heap beside Jenna, her head in Isaac's lap. The back of her dress was cut in a thin line below her hair, where the arrow must have hit. Four arrows lay on the ground, all but one of them stained with blood. Garet sat down beside Isaac, handing the arrows he had grabbed to Piers without saying anything.

"What—" Piers began.

"That archer won't bother us anymore," Garet stated simply. He would go into more detail when they had time. There were two lives on the line; it wasn't the time for talking.

Piers nodded and moved away, pulling items from his pouch and making it clear that he didn't want to be disturbed. There was nothing to do but wait and hope they weren't too late…

Isaac gasped and clutched his chest, and Garet wasn't too far behind him. It felt like a part of him had just been wrenched away, the exact opposite of when Mars Lighthouse was lit and his Psyenergy had strengthened. _The Lighthouse! _he thought, turning to look in that direction. Piers, Felix, Sheba, and Isaac, had reached the same conclusions; each were looking where the Lighthouse of their Element had stood; the Lighthouses that they all helped to light. One year after the Lighthouses were lit, someone finds a way to put them out again. Coincidence, probably; Garet was desperately hoping that whoever had extinguished the Lighthouses wasn't that good of a planner.

"Did the archer…say anything?" Isaac asked quietly. He almost sounded as if he didn't want an answer.

Garet looked over to where Piers had returned to working on his antidote. "Go ahead. You won't distract me," he said, as if he had read Garet's mind. Honestly, at times Garet could've sworn the man was a Jupiter Adept!

"He didn't say much. When it was clear the he would lose, he stabbed himself through the heart. Before he committed suicide, he said 'This isn't over, Adept.' I don't know about you guys, but I'm a little confused."

Felix looked thoughtful for a moment before responding. "He killed himself to avoid questioning," he stated, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"And he has a partner, here in the woods," Isaac added, with a glance towards Jenna. Sheba nodded her agreement, but Garet was even more confused. Isaac sighed and explained. "Jenna was obviously shot by two archers, by the angles of the arrows. That, or our archer friend can move inhumanly fast. And his statement says that he has companions; if he was a merely a bandit, it would be unlikely he had assistance, and this whole thing would end with his death."

"And he would want to avoid questions because they could lead to whoever is employing him, or the location of his companions," Felix concluded. Garet was amazed they could turn so little information into a conspiracy in a matter of seconds.

Piers' eyes shone with worry. "There's another archer?" he asked, looking up from a vial full of a cloudy liquid.

"He's gone too," Garet said. "I saw him running from the forest when we were looking for Jenna." Piers looked immensely relieved, but a second later, he was barking orders.

"Isaac, I need you to find me periwinkle. You know, the white flowers in you Mother's garden. Sheba, if you could find—Sheba? Are you alright?" Sheba looked horrified. Her eyes were wide, and both hands were clasped over her mouth. She shook her head weakly at Piers' question.

"What the—" Isaac said, putting a hand to his head as if he were dizzy. Felix muttered a stream of curses. Both Earth Adepts fainted simultaneously. Sheba screamed, looking southwest.

"What in Mars' name is going on?" Within seconds, he knew. Mercury's power had just multiplied tenfold of what it had been when the Lighthouse was lit. His head spun until it was a struggle to stay standing. His vision blurred. Garet felt himself losing consciousness, fighting to stay awake. He had too; Mia and Jenna needed that antidote. They needed him!

Jenna needed him…

……………………

**Cliffie! Please don't kill me! Okay, seeing as I actually have reviews, I'm going to reply to them. Only the three since I posted the last chapter, even if two of them are from November.**

**HaWk98: Death threats? Really? Someone actually _cares _enough to threaten my life? That's pretty cool! Those were the originally planned pairings, but they might change. However much I love windshipping, I've been reading too many lighthouseshipping stories. '**

**HaWk98: Hi again! I'm afraid I can't tell you, mostly because at the time I wrote the chapter, I didn't know, myself. Not that I _wanted_ to blow up the Lighthouses, but that's how it turned out.**

**Rozzlyn: I'm glad you think it's interesting!**

**Aspen: Now please review! Maybe she'll update faster (as if).**

**See ya!**

**Procne**


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